Brunch Buffet at Monsees Bakery & Cafe

Last May 13, Monsees Cafe celebrated Mother’s Day with a brunch / dinner buffet for only P399. It also came with a lize jazz band and flowers for moms. The place was jampacked and we got lots of inquiries as to when the next buffet’s gonna be. What I can suggest for now is that you follow Monsees Cafe in Facebook and Twitter so that you can receive promo updates. We’re also launching our new and improved menu this June so it’s going to be really exciting at the shop.

In the meantime, let me share with you some photos taken during the buffet and hope that you drop by Monsees Cafe one of these days

Lia’s Cakes

If Max’s is the house that chicken built, then Lia’s Cakes is the house that avocado built Man, that’s avocado right there! In a cake!!!

I don’t have enough words to describe it. It probably isn’t the best cake anyone would ever try but the cake itself is moist and flavorful and will sure make any avocado lover scream for joy. And for the non-avocado lovers, don’t worry. The best time to change your mind is now. The avocado flavor isn’t too strong, it won’t scare you away. I promise, it’s really good and there’s no better way to lose your avocado-virginity than to this sexy cake, baby!

And what about purple yam? The last ube dessert I tried was my ube-wan-kenobi cupcake topped with coco-cream cheese frosting. Now, this one from Lia’s is another dessert that would make me jump up and down. It’s their ube cheesecake with, guess what, polvoron crust and topping! How I really wish I’m free to eat one whole slice. Nope, make that two slices So good, I can have it with black coffee everyday.

They have other desserts too but our next targets would probably be their mango cheesecake and calamansi cake. And the best part is, all cakes are 30% off from 8PM onwards daily. Can’t get any better than that, ‘ey! Lia’s Cakes is just beside Mad Mark’s in Kapitolyo. Lezgow!

Mad Mark’s Man Sandwich & Frozen D

A week ago, hubby and I decided to drop by Mad Mark’s in Kapitolyo to try their famous The Man sandwich. While I know that I can’t fully enjoy any of their delicious sandwiches, I still decided to bring hubby there because I know that their sandwiches are his kind of thing. And true enough, Mad Mark’s didn’t fail to deliver.

As with most of the Kapitolyo neighborhood restos, the space is really small and Mad Mark’s can easily get crowded anytime. When we went there, we noticed that they only have a handful of wait staff, maybe three including the cashier. I can just imagine how toxic it is for them to attend to everyone as quickly as they can. And that’s also one thing that we liked there, their service is quick.

First thing we ordered was their Zing Wings with French fries. I tried the sauce and it’s the sour kind. My husband liked it but it would have been better if they served it with blue cheese or some kind of dip. I, on the other hand, like my wings on the sweet and spicy side so I didn’t enjoy the wings that much.

I was torn between the Mariner (fish)  and Lumberjack (beef) but I went with the latter. I got the half serving which was perfect for me even without the bun. I loved the Angus beef with the mushrooms, mozzarella and lettuce. Lip-smackin’ good.

And of course, we also got their famous sandwich called “The Man.” Not the half-serving, darlings, but the full one just for my husband. You know why? Coz he’s da man! Anyhoo, he loved the sandwich all the way down to the last bite. Everything he wanted in a sandwich was there. It had chicken, beef, mushrooms, mozzarella and caramelized onions.

We loved the food in Mad Mark’s and we’re definitely coming back. Hopefully by then, I can enjoy a whole sandwich as well as their frozen desserts. I heard the Madagascar Vanilla Bean ice cream is insanely good

Milky & Sunny… Evening Brekky, Why Not?

Last night, hubby and I went out to grab a copy of the November-December issue of Look Magazine where a friend and fellow foodie/blogger, Tangled Noodle, wrote an article about the new diet plans out there. She interviewed me about the Cohen diet and she included snippets of our convo in her article. And on this note [apologies for this plug], I’d like to invite you to grab a copy of Look Magazine if you can

Anyhow… the nearest bookstore to our place is just along Pioneer St. in Mandaluyong and since we’re already in the hood, we decided to drive around Brgy. Kapitolyo in Pasig to look for a place to have dinner. Then we saw this little resto called Milky & Sunny. From the name itself, I already knew they’d be serving breakfast food.

The place is really small. It can probably sit around 16-20 persons comfortably. Anything more than and it will start to feel like you’re sardines in a shoebox. But there are little details in the store that are quite pretty to look at even if I feel that the design is more suitable for a laundromat-cafe concept in that it got me to imagine myself entering into a laundry room and feeling fuzzy about that sweet, fresh, powdery scent of clean clothes. Then again, as I said, the details are cute… laundromat or not

They have paintings for sale too.

Let’s check out the food.

We ordered their BLT Soup (Php80). It was okay. I got nothing much to say.

Then we also got the breakfast big plate (Php250). Nuninuninu.

Eh, this is really worth two hundred fifty pey-sos?

Ayt. I love meals like this one. Even if it’s mediocre in flavors or taste, I would still eat it. But I don’t feel like we should get ripped off like that. This underwhelming breakfast plate doesn’t taste like P250. Corned beef didn’t taste like it’s premium. Sausage was so-so and it was too dry. The bacon, well, it could have been the best part of the dish but with just two tiny pieces? Uhm, not convinced. The bread slices weren’t even toasted and the frozen butter wouldn’t and couldn’t melt on the bread. The hash potatoes were okay but it’s so supermarket-frozen foods-section material.

This meal right there which I prepared for hubby, sans the corned beef and sausage which I can just easily take out of the fridge and pop into a pan, tasted a lot better. My photo might not justify the taste but it is a meal prepared with effort and may even be sold for P250 for the effort put into preparing French toasts, creamy scrambled eggs, and homemade pancake syrup.

In short, we felt that the breakfast plate from Milky & Sunny wasn’t priced right. Quality-wise it’s not even good. I hope they would re-review their prices. This wouldn’t even match Pancake House’s Bacon and Cheese Medley (2 pieces cheese pancakes with sunny side up egg, crispy bacon strips, and coffee or juice) which only costs about P220. And that’s already a Pancake House meal!

We also got brewed coffee, P80. I don’t think I’m supposed to say anything about it coz it’s just brewed coffee, right? But just to say something about it, fine, the coffee’s okay.

And fresh orange juice, P100. No further comment.

The wait staff told me that they’ve been there for barely three months. On a side comment, kudos to the wait staff because they were friendly, attentive and very courteous. As for the food though, there’s a lot of room for improvement especially about the pricing strategy. It’s a neighborhood restaurant and they don’t really have a specialty that they can call their own. What they serve is just a mix-up of everyone’s favorite breakfast made available all day. It’s not like it’s something we can’t do at home. I hope they could improve on the quality of their food or at least price them in such a way that the customers can feel that they’re getting their money’s worth.

I agree with a friend who said that to be underwhelmed with something that has been so hyped-up by celebrities and bloggers is not a good thing. But I guess that’s just the way it is. I may rave over something that some of you might not like, in the same way that they are raving about Milky & Sunny while I wasn’t impressed. It still boils down to the palate of each and every customer. But if you ever drop by their resto, please let me know what you think

Cafe Milflores…finally, something cute in Batangas!

Nestled outside Batangas City’s basilica and a few hops off from the city’s plaza is a little cafe that looks very pleasant and inviting. It’s called Cafe Milflores and it’s located along P. Dandan St. in Batangas City.

We went there a few months ago but we weren’t able to come in because they’re already closed. It’s sad because it’s a cafe and it was already closed when we got there around 9PM or so. Now you know how early people from the provinces sleep at night So if you check the place out, make sure you come in early.

The first thing you’ll see when you enter is the counter where displays of cakes, pastries, cupcakes, and cookies are up for sale.

In one end of the cafe is the sofa where guests can lounge in. I feel that the balloons are misplaced though

At the opposite end of the sofa is a nook filled with tiny souvenirs and candies.

It’s a small cafe and the chairs and tables are just sprawled in between the sofa and the souvenir nook.

So what do I think about the place?

I’m no expert when it comes to design and my tastes in cafe designs vary from time to time. Inasmuch as the cafe didn’t try to be just like the famous American corporate chain (yep, I’m talking about Starbucks and the like), I admire their choice of concept.

If I may digress, I’d just like to tell you that there is another cafe in Batangas City called Hot N Cold which I first tried last January 2011. That one follows the usual cafe designs we see and it would have been forgettable had we not looked for a place that has wi-fi in Batangas. Hot N Cold has wifi so we went there last weekend and much to our surprise, the food improved a lot since our last visit and they now show films/movies via a projector (well, they got plus points because they were showing Kung Fu Panda on the night we were there)

So, as I was saying, I felt that the design concept for Cafe Milflores was a great choice. It fits the place perfectly. However, there were elements that I felt should not be there. I mentioned the balloons. I know the pink and white balloons are cute but I don’t know why they’re there.

The place makes me wanna have an afternoon tea party there but I’m a little lost on how to connect the image of coffee which, for me is supposed to be strong and robust, vis-a-vis the cute and delicate interiors of the cafe.

I haven’t been to London and I don’t know how a typical English cafe looks like but I have clear images of cafes that I’ve been to and more or less, I can sense if there are elements that are not faithful to the general theme/design. The owners display family photos of their travels on the walls or on the tables and if I remember it well, I’ve seen one taken in Disneyland Hong Kong and another one in Senado Square in Macau. Well, that’s too far from London.

I guess a little fine-tuning of the details is needed but at the end of the day, I still loved the place and it made me smile. It’s a happy place to be in That plus the warmth of the pastry chef who went out of his way to offer us a great spot in the cafe.

Now, the food.  I know, I know, I’m too ashamed to admit that I tried the desserts even if I’m in the Cohen program

Hubby got the blueberry cheesecake and he was not impressed. I shared the same sentiment. If hubby and I were to pick our favorite cheesecakes, Junior’s and The Cheesecake Factory’s would always top our list. As for cheesecakes, I guess we’re hard to please Sadly, the blueberry cheesecake from Cafe Milflores disappointed us. It’s like eating gelatin instead of a cheesecake. The blueberry topping isn’t flavorful at all. Considering that we’re in Batangas, a slice of cheesecake above P90 isn’t cheap and it’s a waste spending it on this cheesecake.

Umma (mom in Korean ) got the Toblerone cheesecake. Again, this one is gelatinous in texture which is disappointing. However, I kinda liked it because it somehow felt like I’m eating chocolate mousse. It’s much better than the blueberry cheesecake but this is not to say that it’s a winner. Again, it’s not cheap and I think you’d get more worth for your penny if you just try a different dessert.

Appa (dad in Korean) got the Banana Cream Pie. Now, now, if we weren’t impressed with the cheesecakes, we were very happy with this one. I have a different version of banana cream pie and I’d say that this is another great version that I’d be happy to give a try. I like the chocolatey crust which blended well with the toffee, the vanilla cream layer, and the marshmallow-ey whipped cream top. Love love love this one… really. I may have been disappointed with the cheesecakes but whenever a dish pleases me, I’m a very proud and happy customer. And only because of their banana cream pie, I’m gonna recommend Cafe Milflores to all my friends

Their coffee is nothing spectacular. Actually, this one is just brewed coffee. However, there’s something about this coffee that makes me feel at home. I didn’t get a chance to ask if they’re using kapeng barako but my cup tasted just as good. It’s a great match for the banana cream pie. I brought my own sucralose but I like that they serve their coffee with muscovado sugar. And that’s another plus point for their coffee

All in all, despite some design elements I didn’t like and the cheesecake failures, I still enjoyed our visit to Cafe Milflores. I will be trying their other dishes next time. Finally, there’s a cute place in Batangas where we can hang out with friends and if ever you’re in Batangas, you may want to drop by this cafe too.

P.S. There’s royalty before the entrance and guess who’s there